Big Sand Lake vs Long Lake
Water quality, depth, fish species, and recreation comparison.
Big Sand Lake and Long Lake both received the same overall water quality grade of A (Excellent). Both are in Hubbard County, Minnesota.
Both Big Sand Lake and Long Lake sit in Minnesota. A same-state comparison strips out the state-level water-quality regime as a variable: any grade differences here are about the lakes themselves, not the agencies grading them. The grades are close: Big Sand Lake (A) and Long Lake (A) are within one letter of each other on the LakeGrade rubric. The per-parameter sub-grades below will show where the small differences actually live.
With grades this close, the choice between the two lakes turns on non-water-quality factors: depth, fish species, public access, distance from home. The per-lake pages below cover all of those.
Big Sand Lake
Crystal clear, you can see 23 ft down.
Long Lake
Good clarity, visible to about 11.2 ft.
Side-by-Side Metrics
| Metric | Big Sand Lake | Long Lake |
|---|---|---|
| Overall Grade | A (Excellent) | A (Excellent) |
| Water Clarity | 23 ft | 11.2 ft |
| Phosphorus | 7 µg/L | 10 µg/L |
| Chlorophyll-a (Algae) | 1.7 µg/L | 4.5 µg/L |
| Maximum Depth | 135 ft | 135 ft |
| Surface Area | 1,639 acres | 1,926 acres |
| Public Access | Yes | Yes |
| Fish Species | 16 | 14 |
| Trophic State | oligotrophic | mesotrophic |
Bold value = better for that metric (lower phosphorus / chlorophyll = cleaner; higher Secchi / depth / species count = better).
Verdict
Both lakes earn the same Grade A. The tiebreakers come down to clarity (Big Sand Lake: 23 ft, Long Lake: 11.2 ft) and what you want from the lake. Big Sand Lake supports more documented fish species.
Source: EPA National Aquatic Resource Surveys, 2026.